A Surf Life Saving NSW spokesman said 13,000 people were treated
for marine stings in 2005, but that jumped to 26,000 last year.

Dr Gershwin said a study in the Gulf of Alaska had yielded
"quite staggering" data to suggest global warming would affect
jellyfish. She said the adaptive power of jellyfish must be taken
into account.

"Jellyfish have been around for 600 million years," she said.
"They have perfected the art of survival and are very good at
taking advantage of changing conditions."

If the conditions brought on by global warming suited jellyfish,
Dr Gershwin had no doubt populations would flourish.

Earlier this month, swarms of bluebottles stung more than 1200
people on Gold Coast beaches, but Stuart Hogben, Surf Life Saving's
co-ordinator for the Gold Coast, said the number of bluebottles in
the water this year was not abnormal.

"We get huge numbers of bluebottles every year," he said. "If
the people stung [that] weekend had used a bit more common sense, a
lot of those stings could have been avoided."

Mr Hogben advised swimmers to stay out of the water if
bluebottles were visible in the surf or on the beach.

He said if beachgoers still decided to swim in the presence of
bluebottles, they should cover up with clothes or a wetsuit.

The treatment for stings was to run cold water over the area and
apply an ice pack, he said.

"Bluebottles are a part of summer in Australia. People need to
know how to avoid getting stung and how to treat stings when they
do happen."

But Mr Hogben agrees there might be some truth in the theory
that global warming would affect jellyfish populations.

"You don't see any bluebottles in winter," he said, "so it seems
entirely possible that if waters heat up, the bluebottles will
stick around for longer."